3D2N Dipolog-Dapitan Itinerary and Budget 2015

While my hubby's parents are in the Philippines, we wanted to treat them to a historical vacation in Dipolog and Dapitan for them to be able to explore the place where Jose Rizal was exiled.

Our trip was not thoroughly planned because not much information can be found on the net. Hopefully this blog post can guide travelers planning to go to Dipolog and Dapitan.

Note: Prices posted are based on our 2015 trip. Check respective sites for updated prices.

Conquering Sagada with Travel Factor

Have you ever wanted to go somewhere but just don't know how. You keep procrastinating on going on a trip because you don't know how to create an itinerary or don't know how much money to bring. Fret no more because there are now lots of travel agencies that offer all-in carefree tours at affordable prices.

I have always wanted to see the rice terraces up close but had always considered going to Banaue or Sagada quite far fetched. So we decided to go to Sagada through the help of a travel company called "Travel Factor". For only Php 4,950 you can now conquer Sagada without all the hassle of making the itinerary, the reservations and all the works. Their package includes the following:

• Roundtrip Aircon Bus: Manila - Banaue - Manila
• Roundtrip Chartered Jeep: Banaue - Sagada - Banaue
• 3D/2N accommodation in Sagada
• Day 1 Lunch, Day 2 Breakfast and Lunch, Day 3 Breakfast
• Private Jeepney during tours around Sagada
• Environment permits and entrance fees
• Service of local guides and cave guides with lamps
• Service of the tour director
• Travel Insurance
• Travel Factor ID and T-Shirt

We were not able to follow the itinerary as it is posted on their web site due to weather conditions but we eventually covered them all on the next day.

Day 0 - MANILA - April 30, 2014 (Wednesday)

Time	Itinerary
09:00 PM	Meet up at Ohayami Bus Station at Fajardo St. cor. Lacson Ave., Sampaloc Manila
	* Ticket price from Manila to Banaue is Php 450

Day 1 - BANAUE - SAGADA - May 1, 2014 (Thursday)

Time	Itinerary
05:00 AM	Arrive in Banaue
	We were dropped off at Hidden Valley Restaurant and ate breakfast there. (own expense)
07:00 AM	Travel from Banaue to Sagada
	Side trip at Banaue Rice Terraces
11:00 AM	Arrive in Sagada
	Check in at Indigenous Handicrafts and Inn
	Lunch at Pinikpikan Haus
	Desserts at Strawberry Cafe (own expense)
02:00 PM	Trek the rice terraces and see Pongas Falls
	* unfortunately we can not visit the Bomod-ok Falls because of an ongoing tribal ritual * skipped sunset viewing due to the rainy weather
06:00 PM	Back in Sagada town proper
07:00 PM	Dinner at Salt & Pepper Restaurant (own expense)
	Hot Chocolate and desserts at Sagada Brew (own expense)

Day 2 - SAGADA - May 2, 2014 (Friday)

Time	Itinerary
07:00 AM	Ate breakfast at Pinikpikan Haus
	* skipped sunrise viewing due to the rainy weather
09:00 AM	Started the Cave Connection Adventure. We went into Lumiang Cave and came out of Sumaguing Cave
02:00 PM	Late lunch at Pinikpikan Haus
	Desserts at Lemon Pie House (own expense)
05:00 PM	Went to Lake Danum to see the sunset but there was none because of the rainy weather
07:00 PM	Dinner at Masferre Restaurant (own expense)

Day 3 - SAGADA - BANAUE - May 3, 2014 (Saturday)

Time	Itinerary
04:30 AM	Sunrise at Kiltepan Viewpoint
06:00 AM	Breakfast at Bana's Cafe (own expense)
09:00 AM	Trek to Echo Valley to see the hanging coffins
	Visit the St. Mary's Escopal Church
11:00 AM	Early lunch at Yoghurt House (own expense)
	Free time to shop for pasalubongs
02:00 PM	Chartered jeep ride back to Banaue
	Side trip at the Sagada Weaving
05:00 PM	Arrive in Banaue
	Free time to go to the market place
06:00 PM	Early dinner at People's Lodge and Restaurant
07:00 PM	Bus ride back to Manila

Day 4 - MANILA - May 4, 2014 (Sunday)

Time	Itinerary
04:00 AM	Arrive in Manila

Meals in Sagada start at Php 200 above if you're going to eat in restaurants along the main road. But if you are interested in eating local food you can go to Centrum building's basement for carenderias.

PROs:

• Afford-ably priced package
• Friendly and accommodating coordinators
• Comfortable ride
• Enough free time was provided for us to be able to explore the town
• Meet new people

CONs:

• Bus station is cramped.
• There were too many participants during the tour that we were not able to hear the tour guide's orientation when we were visiting the sites. These are only on the ocassion that our group was joined together with another group of more than 30.

Are we going to avail another Travel Factor package? Yes, most probably we will but we would definitely be asking how many people are going to participate next time. We were just lucky during our trip that we were only a group of 11 plus our room has its own CR.

Overall, we had a blast in Sagada even with a few bumps and bruises along the way. We are proud to say that we have conquered the adventures of Sagada!

5D4N Cebu-Bohol Itinerary and Budget 2014

To kick off summer, we went to explore the beach of Bohol with a side trip to Cebu City.

The trip was not really planned for, we only decided to push through because AirAsia was offering promo fares. Our fare would have been a lot cheaper if we bought round trip tickets for Cebu but for convenience we booked our return ticket for Tagbilaran instead.

Wedding on a Budget

Getting married nowadays has become very tedious and very expensive as well. But with enough research and haggling, any bride can come up with their very own dream wedding on a budget =) You just need to take the time and effort to achieve it.

Since I was already able to gather enough information through my own wedding preparations, I would then like to share with you sample budget that is doable for 100-150 guests (",)

Hope you'll find this entry helpful and inspiring as well. Happy preps!

Image courtesy of stockimages / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

3D3N Hong Kong & Macau Budget and Itinerary 2013

This post is looooooong overdue. We had our honeymoon trip to Hong Kong last August 2013. It sure was tiring because we had to make long walks but it still was fun since we are together. And since I was the one who made the itinerary, I would then like to take the time to share it to everyone. I hope you guys will find this helpful for your future travels. Enjoy!

View at The Peak - Sky Terrace